These four areas of action can serve as a guide to strengthening civic participation across the health sector. Choose which options make the most sense for you and your network.
Action 1: Connect with our team to learn more about becoming a Health & Democracy Partner
Action 2: Foster an organization-wide commitment to voting and strengthen the understanding of the critical relationship between health and democracy.
Host educational events for your workforce and/or members to learn more about how health and democracy are interconnected. Email gnora@responsivegov.org to schedule and plan a session.
Share research and reports on the critical relationship between voting and health outcomes such as:
The Health & Democracy Index with colleagues to illustrate the interdependent relationship between health outcomes and policies that make it easier or more difficult to vote
County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2023 Report on Civic Health and Infrastructure
America’s Health Rankings new measure on voter participation
Join leading health organizations like the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the Society for Public Health Education, and the American College of Physicians, by adopting policy statements or resolutions that recognize an inclusive and representative democracy as a critical driver of health.
Action 3: Making Your Organization Voter Friendly
Make voter participation an organizational strategic priority by engaging your organization's leadership (like department leads in HR, GR, CSR) to implement the following recommended strategies.
Offer Time Off to Vote for Employees. Ensures your workforce has the time and/or flexibility to vote by establishing and promoting your organization’s time off to vote policy. See Nonprofit Vote’s Sample Staff Policies for Time Off to Vote as a great place to get started.
Order Custom Digital Resources to embed voter registration tools and educational resources into the workflows of your teams and organization https://vot-er.org/custom-materials
If allowed in your jurisdiction, offer your office, lobby, warehouse, distribution center, or another space that is accessible to the community by converting it into a voting center or serving as a ballot drop box location. Connect with your local county clerk to see if your space could serve as a polling place or dropbox. Find your local clerk here.
Action 4: Remind your organization and community to vote
Use your external communication tools like newsletters, social media, and websites to promote voter participation beyond your workforce and membership.
Incorporate civic health information into brand or cause marketing.
Use your external communication platforms like your website, social media, and newsletters to share information about upcoming elections such as voter registration materials, key election deadlines, and reminders to vote.
Share Nonpartisan Election Information During Every Election (state, local, school boards, ballot measures, etc.)
Make sure your staff and members have all the information they need to vote in every election by sharing nonpartisan election information like voter registration deadlines, polling locations, absentee ballot applications, and moreVote411 national nonpartisan voter guide sponsored by the League of Women Voters
Mark your calendar to celebrate the Civic Holidays!
Promote civic holidays on social media to ensure your external audiences are excited about the upcoming election. Mark your calendars for:National Voter Registration Day: Tuesday September 15th
National Voter Education Week: October 5th through 9th
National Vote Early Day: October 27th
Election Day: November 3rd
Encourage your audience to serve as poll workers or poll observers
Partner with Power the Polls to encourage your external audiences to serve as poll workers this year. Share opportunities for your audience to sign up as poll workers throughout the year to ensure local elections have enough capacity to operate smoothly. See: Power the Polls Poll Worker Sign-up and Protect the Vote.